In 2011, the ship was acquired by the based in Vlissingen Netherlands-based Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, and following a drydock refurbishment was renamed 'Ortelius'. As of December 2007, the ship was chartered by the Sydney-based company Aurora Expeditions and operated as 'cruise ship' in the Antarctica and Arctic regions. The Ortelius ship operated in the Russian Far East as a cargo supply and passenger vessel, as well as a supply and accommodation ship to oil fields located in the Russian Arctic (northern Pacific Ocean) territories. Additionally, Ortelius has a helipad and can carry 2 helicopters onboard. Like all the other fleet mates, Ortelius is equipped with rigid-hulled zodiacs (inflatable boats) used for landings (ship-to-shore passenger transportation) in remote areas. The boat has 7 decks, of which 4 are passenger-accessible and 3 with cabins ( 53 total staterooms).

Among these organizations are AECO (Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators - cruise line organization working mainly in Europe's Arctic / Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard Norway), IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, 1991-founded association of 100+ members/companies) and BirdLife International (1922-founded global organizations dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats). Oceanwide Expeditions supports renowned organizations dedicated to wildlife preservation and sustainable environmental development projects in Earth's polar regions. Each boat is crewed and guided by a dedicated expedition team. In most of these locations, the cruise ship anchors near the coast and all passengers are tendered (via Zodiac Milpro boats) to the landing sites. Most Oceanwide-organized tours are in sea-only accessible areas, usually without any land/port infrastructure. Oceanwide Expeditions has year-round planned itineraries - during summer (April through September) in the Arctic and during winter (October through March) in Antarctica. Specializing in passenger shipping and navigation in icy waters, with the newbuilds Janssonius and Hondius the headquartered in Vlissingen Netherlands cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions grew not only as fleet/capacity but also as brand popularity and trust.įounded in 1993, Oceanwide Expeditions (shipowner) is one of the industry's small cruise lines offering regularly-scheduled and flexible polar cruise tours providing its customers with the opportunity to contact with Arctic-Antarctica's wildlife, unique landscapes, nautically important polar regions and historical sites. As Marina Svetaeva, the ship was Russia-flagged (MMSI 273420410). The vessel (IMO number 8509181) is currently Holland- flagged (MMSI 244180151) and registered in Rotterdam. The vessel was launched under the name 'Marina Svetaeva', and initially served as a special purpose ship for the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is part of the Oceanwide Expeditions fleet - together with Janssonius (2022), Hondius (2019), Plancius (1976), and the polar sailing ships Noorderlicht (1991) and Rembrandt van Rijn (1994). The 1989-built MV Ortelius cruise ship is an ice-strengthened polar expedition vessel.

Mv ortelius current position